Kristy's Big Realization
by Orange Bulldog
Summary: A post-series story. Kristy is entering 11th grade, and she has a new client, a lesbian couple with two daughters. At the same time, she is getting closer to her new friend Luce. Femslash but only PG. Please read and review! My first BSC fic so be nice!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: Ann M. Martin owns all the characters from the books. I stopped reading the books over a decade ago, so apologies if anything counteracts what was written after that point, like some Mallory leaving thing I've read about. I did put Abby in even though I only know about her from the internet, and I made up a new character even though she's basically useless, just because I thought it would be weird to not have changed at all in the past two years.

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My name is Kristin Amanda Thomas, but nobody calls me that except my mother – when she gets really mad at me. Everyone has called me Kristy since before I can remember. I live with my mother, my stepfather, my younger brother David, my two stepsiblings Karen and Andrew, my adopted sister Emily Michelle, and my grandmother. David is eleven, Karen is ten, Andrew is seven, and Emily Michelle is five. I have two older brothers: Charlie who is twenty and Sam who is eighteen. They both go to the University of Connecticut – Sam just moved out two weeks ago to start his freshman year. Also living in the house is Nannie, my grandmother (my mom's mom). She moved in with us when Mom and Watson adopted Emily Michelle, to help out. Like I said, Emily Michelle is five now, but they adopted her from Vietnam when she was two. Nannie doesn't have to do so much now that Emily Michelle is in kindergarten, but she's part of the family now, so she stayed. Luckily, my stepfather is a millionaire and we live in a gigantic house big enough for all six kids and Nana to have our own rooms.

I'm sixteen years old and I go to Stoneybrook High school with my friends. There are a few groups I mostly hang out with: the Babysitters' Club, and my sports teams, usually the one I am currently playing (field hockey in the fall, volleyball in the winter, and softball in the spring). The sports teams are relatively self-explanatory, so I'll focus on the other. The Babysitters' Club is something I started four years ago, when we were twelve. Baby sitting was what all of my friends did for extra money, but I saw that it took my mom forever to call around and find a free sitter. I thought it would be great if she could call one place and reach a whole bunch of sitters. So we got together three times a week, and parents could call us at those times and reach four sitters. By the time we graduated middle school, the club had grown to seven. In the past three years, the club has changed quite a bit as we get busier in high school, but the essence is still there. We now only have an official meeting once a week, on Wednesdays, but we have a dedicated cell phone that parents can call at any time to leave a message, and we talk to each other often to make sure we're all on the same page.

As you can imagine, my life is pretty busy. I have sports every day after school until 5, BSC meeting on Wednesdays immediately after that until 6, and then homework and/or babysitting. A significant part of weekends consist of sports or babysitting too. So I don't have time for much else. I haven't ever had a real boyfriend, and I've only been on a couple of dates. It doesn't really bother me though – sports are more fun anyway.

We have ten members of the BSC now. The original four are still here – Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey, and me. There are three more members in our grade at SHS. Dawn and Abby have been members since eighth grade. Katie we didn't meet until high school, but she and Dawn became fast friends over a protest of cafeteria food, and she soon joined the BSC. In addition, Shannon is in eleventh grade, but attends SDS, a private school. We also have two younger members, Mallory and Jessi, who are in ninth grade now at SHS. They were invaluable the last two years, as the high school members' schedules got crazier. We're talking about getting some new younger members now that they are in high school. We have a lot of former charges who are now old enough to sit themselves.

Let's see, about the club members.

Mary Anne Spier has been my best friend since we were little, when we used to live next door to each other. When we were in the eighth grade, both of our parents remarried and moved. Mary Anne and I look sort of alike, since we both have brown hair and eyes, but she's much prettier than me. She also dresses much nicer. I mostly wear jeans and Tshirts, or sweaters when it's cold. I'm basically still a tomboy. I love sports, especially softball. I play on the school team and coach a kids' team called Kristy's Krushers in the summer. I'm still trying to figure out what's so exciting about boys. I sort of dated this guy named Alan Grey in middle school, but I wasn't as interested in him as he was in me, so that stopped. Since then I haven't had time really.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Mary Anne moved away from our old street too when her dad got remarried. Her parents aren't divorced like mine – her mom died when we were little. Her dad used to be really protective of her because of that, and he didn't even let her pick out her own clothes until we were in about seventh grade. I think he got a lot better when he got remarried – to Dawn's mom! Mary Anne still cries at the drop of a hat, but in some ways she's more grown up than me. She had a serious boyfriend for two years, but they broke up last year. Actually he used to be a BSC member, but now it's a bit awkward, so he isn't really in the club anymore. She's just starting to date a new guy now. Mary Anne has a real attention to detail, which is good because she is our secretary and basically keeps the club running. She keeps the club phone, knows our schedules, and schedules jobs.

Dawn Schaffer lived in California until she was thirteen and her parents got divorced. Her mom moved her and her brother Jeff back here to Connecticut. Dawn's father still lived in California, and her brother moved back to live with him after only living here for a short time. That made Dawn really sad, and she tried moving back too, and she switched back and forth a few times, but she ended up coming back here last year. I think she's actually going to stay here now, even though she is a true California girl. She's a vegetarian and a health freak, and she loves the beach and the sun. She's independent and doesn't really care what other people think about her, she has to be her own person. She used to have really long blonde hair, but she just cut it off to give to Locks of Love to make wigs for sick kids, so now she has a short little bob.

Claudia Kishi lived across the street from Mary Anne and me growing up, and is the only one who still lives there. Claudia is beautiful. She's Japanese-American and has long black hair. She's about the most creative dresser I know. She is an amazing artist, but she struggles with the rest of school. Her family really hates that, especially because her older sister, Janine, is a genius. Janine was the valedictorian the same year they wanted to hold Claudia back in ninth grade. Luckily they didn't hold her back after all, and she's still in our grade. Janine goes to Harvard now. Somehow, that actually helped take some pressure off Claud, not having her around every day for comparisons.

Stacey McGill had just moved here from New York City when we started the club, and she was friends with Claudia because they both are really into fashion and boys. I'm amazed they still find time to babysit, though it has to be during the day on the weekend, because they have dates almost every weekend night. Stacey is really a New Yorker, and while she likes us and the BSC, I think she will always miss it. She's always been a really fashionable dresser, which is probably part of why boys like her so much. She's had boyfriends all through high school, I think about five by now. All in a row of course, she would never cheat on any of them. Stacey also has diabetes, so she can't eat sugar. Her parents are divorced too, and her dad still lives in the city. She's always been a math whiz so she is our treasurer.

Abby Stevenson joined near the end of eighth grade. At first we had some trouble because we are both really outspoken. But we do share a love of sports, so eventually we bonded over that, once she realized that I was always going to win power struggles about the BSC. For other things, we probably alternate about equally. We're on the volleyball team together now too. Abby has a twin sister, Anna, who isn't in the BSC. She's pretty shy, even more shy than Mary Anne, but she doesn't cry as much. Abby and Anna are Jewish. They are identical, but sometimes we forget that because they are so different it's easy to tell them apart.

Katie Clark is our newest member, even though she's not the youngest. She went to a different middle school, and we didn't really know her until last year, when she got to be friends with Dawn. We usually invite new friends to be members if they seem to like kids. And our business is always growing. She lives with her dad, stepmom, and her half-sister, Julie, who's almost two. Her stepmom works a lot so she takes care of Julie a lot of the time. Katie is a vegan, which means she doesn't eat meat or anything made from animals. Since she's been friends with Dawn, I think our California friend has felt more at home, not always being the only one who isn't eating a hamburger!

Shannon Kilbourne has been in the BSC since eighth grade. When my mom married Watson and we moved to his house, Shannon was my first friend in our new neighborhood. She goes to Stoneybrook Day School, a private school. She originally joined as an associate member, which meant she didn't come to meetings but we could call her for a job if necessary, because she is really busy with other extracurricular activities. When we restructured the club and had fewer official meetings, she became a normal member. She lives with her parents and her sisters Maria and Tiffany.

The last two members of the BSC are Mallory Pike and Jessi Ramsey. They're in the ninth grade. Mallory is the oldest of eight kids! We actually used to baby-sit her when she was 10, but she was always more of a babysitter than a kid to watch, so when she was eleven she and her best friend Jessi joined as junior officers, which used to mean they could only sit in the afternoons or on weekends. Now, of course, that is not the case. Mallory has red curly hair, and she just got her braces off. She loves to read and is obsessed with horses. She's really excited to finally be in high school. The Pikes are not as frequent clients anymore now, because four of her siblings are in middle school, but sometimes we still sit for the youngest three if none of the older Pikes are available.

Jessi is a lot like Mallory, and she's also excited to be in high school. She's only got two younger siblings though, Becca, who's eleven, and Squirt, who's four. Becca is one of the girls we are considering as a new younger member, actually. She's a sweet girl. When Jessi joined the club, her family had just moved here from New Jersey, and she was having trouble fitting in at school because her family is black, and that's kind of rare around here. Luckily now people just see her as Jessi. She's also an amazing ballerina, and she goes to Stamford every day to take lessons, so that takes up a lot of her time. This summer she went to an intensive camp in New York City and we all went in to see her show at the end. When I watch her dance, I forget she's my friend because she's so incredible.

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A/N: This first chapter is kinda boring because I wanted to sort of get the feel like you are reading one of the books, and let's be honest - the first couple chapters in all the books were a yawn! But it'll get more interesting soon.


	2. Chapter 2

It's our first meeting of the school year. Business changes during the school year, with mostly evening requests or weekends, whereas we do get a decent number of daytime jobs in the summer. Also, as I said before, we're watching to see if we can handle all the jobs with all our members in high school now.

"Hello, Babysitters' Club." I answered the phone, hushing the talking of my fellow clubmembers.

It was a new client on the phone. I still love getting new clients. It's exciting.

I listened as she explained that she and her wife had two daughters, aged 5 and 9. Wait a second, her wife? My head caught that about 10 seconds later, when she was telling me that she wanted to let us know ahead of time that her kids had two moms, and wanted to make sure that was not a problem for us. Unfortunately, my backed-up mind caused me to sound like it wasn't. I hurriedly assured her that it was no problem, and I'd get back to her when I knew who could sit for her.

Hanging up the phone, I explained the situation to the rest of the group.

"It just took me by surprise, I mean she called the other woman her wife."

"What else is she going to call her?" Claudia asked rationally.

I paused. "I don't know. It just sounded odd. And she isn't really, right? I mean they aren't married."  
Dawn reached for a cracker. "They could be. Same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut. Also in Massachussetts."

"Uh, Dawn, something you want to tell us?" Stacey said, slightly teasing.

"Hey, I'd date a girl if I fell in love with one. It's totally natural. I knew plenty of gay kids in California."

"Okay anyway back to the Ryders. Who can sit next Friday?" I brought it back to club business.

Mary Anne checked the schedule. "That would be you, Stacey, and Jessi."

"Actually, I um, I have a date that night." Jessi said with a grin. "Tom and I are going out again."

Everyone squealed. Except me. Seriously people. It's just a boy.

"Kristy, you better take it. I don't want to tie up my Friday night either." Stacey said, popping her sugar-free gum.

"Okay, put me down. I'll call Mrs. Ryder back." I paused. "Do you think it's Mrs.? Is her wife's name Ryder too, you think?"

"Just say Ms. and hope for the best." Mallory suggested.

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I showed up on Friday night at 6, excited as usual to meet a new family. Besides, I'd never sat for a gay family before. Come to think of it, I don't really know any gay people. Well, I guess there are guys in the drama club, or whatever, that people whisper about. I don't hear much gossip, but I'm not that naïve.

I rang the doorbell.

A little girl's voice came through the door.

"Who is it?"

I smiled. Good kid. "Hi, my name is Kristy, I'm your babysitter."

I heard muffled voices and the door opened to reveal the older daughter.

"That was smart of you to ask before you opened the door." I praised her. "You must be Sophie."

She nodded. "Mama says never open the door without asking."

"Thanks Sophie." A woman appeared in the foyer. "Can you go tell your mama the sitter is here? Hi Kristy, I'm Susan Ryder, we spoke on the phone.

"Okay Mom." Sophie disappeared up the stairs, and I shook her mother's hand.

"So like I said, we're just going out to dinner with some friends. We should be home around ten, if that's okay. Both the kids should be in bed by then – Amy's bedtime is 8 and Sophie's is 9. They usually take longer to fall asleep when we aren't here, though. They just had mac and cheese for dinner, so really you're pretty free."

We played Candyland, which Sophie pointed out was a baby game – after her little sister beat both of us. So she got to pick the next activity, which turned out to be giving me a "makeover." In between painting my eyes with bright blue eyeshadow and braiding my hair, they peppered me with questions.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Sophie asked. Most female charges asked me that at some point.

"Nope."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" That one wasn't so common.

"No."

"Do you like boys or girls?" Amy piped up.

"Amy, you're not supposed to ask people that, remember? Mama says it's rude."

"Oh yeah. I'm sorry Kristy."

"It's okay, Amy."

"We don't know yet. Mama says when we get older, we'll figure it out. I want to like girls, like Mom and Mama, but they said it doesn't really matter what you want, you are who you are." She said, very matter-of-factly.

Who would have thought that a 9-year-old would be more self-aware than me?


	3. Chapter 3

Monday after school we had field hockey tryouts. They give us a week to settle into classes before sports are allowed to begin. I was on varsity last year, so I wasn't too worried about making it again, but you never know. I looked around at the group of girls clustered on the field. There were three general groups – last year's varsity team, last year's JV, and the newbies, who were for the most part very obvious freshmen. There was one girl who looked out of place. She wasn't terribly tall, but she did look older than the rest of the group of newbies. She had stick-straight brown hair that was cut fairly short, and she was wearing a green bandana to keep it away from her face. I could just see it poking out underneath. She caught me looking at her, and smiled at me. For some reason I felt my face flush, and I suddenly decided to re-tie my shoe just right. Finally I straightened up, and found myself nearly face to face with the mystery new girl.

"Hi, I'm Luce. Just moved here from Hartford. Were you on the team last year?"

"Oh, um, yeah, varsity."

"Oh, nice. Do you have to try out again?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. But almost everyone gets back on the team once you make it. Did you play at your old school? What grade are you in?"

"I'm a junior. Yeah, I did. I was varsity too. We weren't in your division, though."

Just then the coach blew her whistle and tryouts began. Luce stayed near me while we ran a short warm up and then some sprints. We ran about the same speed, and I found myself pushing harder and racing with her on the sprints. She looked over and grinned after the last one on which she pulled ahead. Once we got into actual drills and exercises, I realized she was really good. I managed to make varsity mostly because I'm a good athlete, and I can handle the stick okay. But it's not really my sport like softball is. It sure looked like field hockey was Luce's sport. I found myself watching her a few times when I really shouldn't have been, but it was like her stick was an extension of her body, the way she handled it.

Finally the tryout was over, and coach let us go, saying she'd post the results tomorrow before our first official practices. As we were walking away, she called out "Number 22, can I talk to you for a minute?" Everyone looked down to remember what tryout numbers they were wearing. Number 22 was Luce.

I changed back into my clothes, wondering what coach had wanted to talk to Luce about. I didn't have long to wait. She came in as I was finishing, with a grin on her face.

"Hey, what's with the personal chat?" I asked. A couple other girls around me turned to hear the answer too.

"Oh, she just wanted to know where I played before. She said I did really well."

"You did, you were amazing out there. How long have you been playing?"

"Thanks. Since I was nine." She said, stripping her shirt off to reveal a well-toned body. I found myself staring slightly. Not that my body is bad, with all the time I spend running around, but still, I must have been a bit jealous of hers.

"Well, I guess I should get going." I said before I embarrassed myself more.

"Oh, wait. Want to grab some coffee with me?"

I found myself saying okay without even mentally checking my schedule. Luckily for me, when I did, it was free.

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I actually don't drink coffee. It turns out neither does Luce, whose real name is Lucille, but she hates it, so Luce it is. We ended up at a smoothie place next door to Starbucks, which we left when we laughingly realized neither of us drank their signature drink.

We talked at the smoothie place for an hour, before I realized I should get home. It turns out we have three of the same classes, just at different periods. She's in AP physics and calculus though, which is really impressive. She said she wants to be a scientist. I felt kind of bad not having a clue what I want to be.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next month, I hung out more with Luce than I think I ever have with anyone, at least since I've been in high school. We had both made varsity field hockey, obviously. We ate lunch with a group of girls from the team, had practice every day, and sat together on the bus to away games. We also spent a lot of time together outside field hockey, just doing our homework together, going to movies, or watching our younger siblings. She has a younger brother and sister. I invited her to join the BSC, which she did, but was usually too busy to take jobs. I was finding that myself, though I'd sat for the Ryders a couple more times.

Friday night, both of us lacking a job, she spent the night at my house. We turned off the lights and were chatting in bed.

"Greg Owens asked me out today." She said suddenly.

"What? Really?" I wasn't terribly happy with that news. If she started dating someone, she wouldn't have as much time to spend with me. I tried not to let that show, though. I didn't want to be a bad friend.

"I told him no."

"Oh." Come to think of it, we didn't really talk about boys. Claudia and Stacey had asked her what boys she liked, and I couldn't remember what she said. We must have gotten a call, or something.

"Did you have a boyfriend at your old school?"

"Not really. I um, dated a guy for a while in ninth grade. But I uh, I realized it wasn't really my thing."

Her voice was shaking a little. That was weird. "Yeah, I don't think I have time for a boyfriend now anyway."

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"Oh. What did you mean?"

"I mean that I don't like guys. Like that. I don't like guys like that."

"Oh." My head was spinning.

"I like girls instead." She said softly.

"Right."

"I should have told you before. But it didn't really come up. That was cool, I like that we don't have to talk about boys."

"Me too."

We lay in silence for awhile. I was thinking about boys. And girls. And the Ryders. And Luce.

"Kristy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you freaked out?"

"No. I was just thinking. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. You're my best friend. You can ask me anything."

"How did you know? That you like girls, I mean. How did you know that you like girls?"

"Well, I wasn't really interested in dating boys, but I hadn't really thought about the alternative. Then I kissed one. Well, she kissed me."

"Like, on a dare?"

"No. We were drinking, though. At a party. She was on the field hockey team with me. She probably wouldn't have kissed me if she wasn't drunk – when she was sober she denied liking girls."

She sounded kind of bitter.

"Oh. So she kissed you, and you liked it?"

"Yeah. It was way better than kissing a boy."

"Did you have a girlfriend?"

"Not really. I made out with Carrie – the girl that kissed me – a couple more times. Usually when we were drinking. She had a boyfriend, too. Until I decided I didn't want to just be some girl on the side, and watch her be all lovey with her boyfriend in front of everyone else. I was kind of glad we moved because of all that."

"Plus, you met me." I grinned in the dark.

"Well, duh, of course."

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By some twist of fate, I was sitting for the Ryders the next night. I spent a good portion of the day thinking about things. How was it possible that liking girls had never occurred to me? Now that I thought about it, it seemed crystal clear. Why I was not interested in talking about boys. Why I didn't care that I didn't have a boyfriend – and usually said no on the rare occasions boys asked me out. Why I was drawn to certain girls and really wanted them to think I was cool. Why I had been finding myself looking at Luce's body. It freaked me out. I mean, I wasn't stupid. Lots of people hated gay people. And I wanted kids. I reminded myself I was sitting for two kids of gay people right now. That only helped a little bit.

The Ryders came home, and Pat went up to check on the kids while Susan got her checkbook to pay me. I gathered up my courage.

"Um, Ms…I mean, Susan." They had told me to call them by their first names, joking that it got too confusing with two Ms. Ryders around. "Can I ask you something kind of weird?"

She looked up from her check. "Sure, I suppose. What's on your mind?"

"Is it hard being gay? I mean, are people mean to you?"

"Sometimes. Nobody I care about, but sometimes people in stores, or new people I meet, that sort of thing."

"Do you wish you weren't?"

She looked thoughtful. "Not really. I wish the world were a better place. But I love Pat, and I can't imagine not being with her. And I'm certainly glad I am not hiding it, living a lie and pretending to love a man."

"Is it hard on your kids?"

"You know, we worried about that. But I really don't think so. Most of their friends think it's cool that they have two moms. Occasionally they get teased by some ignorant kid. But honestly, Sophie gets more upset by getting teased about her glasses." She grinned.

I grinned too. Sophie complained constantly about her glasses.

"Kristy? If you need to talk about anything…"

I looked at the floor. "I kind of feel like an idiot."

"Why?"

"My best friend just told me she's gay. And I don't know, I guess I never really thought about it one way or the other. I didn't think about it being a possibility. And suddenly it's like, I don't know, how could I not have thought about it?"

"You're sixteen, right?"

I nodded.

"I didn't figure out that I was gay until I was twenty."

"Really?"

"Really. And I didn't come out until I was 23. So don't feel stupid."

"I just don't want people to hate me."

She sighed. "Nobody wants that. All you can do is be a good person, and hope that they see that."


	5. Chapter 5

I left the Ryder's house and drove around for half an hour, and found myself suddenly at Luce's. Her light was on, so I sent her a quick text message. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time before my curfew. So it was good that she was downstairs and sitting in my passenger's seat in what must have been less than a minute. She seemed nervous.

"Hi. I was afraid you might not want to be friends with me anymore."

"What! Of course not. I had to think. I kind of feel like an idiot, but I didn't mean to upset you."

"Why did you have to think?"

I sighed. "Okay, this is going to sound stupid, but I've never really thought about being gay. Until today. Well, last night."

"Um, okay."

"But now that I think about it, it seems pretty obvious, and I can't figure out why I didn't think about it before."

She didn't say anything.

"Luce, I'm pretty sure that I'm gay too. And I'm pretty sure that I have a crush on you. I know you probably don't like me back, but I just wanted to tell you. In case you did, I mean."

I was too nervous to look at her, certain I had completely read this wrong. She was silent for what seemed like hours, but was probably only seconds. We both jumped when my cell phone started ringing. It was my mom, wanting to make sure I was on my way home.

"Yeah, I'm on my way. Be there in a few." I shut the phone. "I should go."

Luce suddenly leaned in and kissed me.

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An hour later, I was lying in bed, still thinking about that kiss. How could I ever have thought I didn't like girls? It hadn't lasted long, but it had been long enough to assure both of us that feelings were mutual. She'd shyly asked me to go to a movie the next day, which I'd eagerly agreed to. And then, before I left, she'd kissed me again.

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The movie date on Sunday went incredibly well. Far better than any date I'd ever been on, that was for sure. Suddenly I was understanding why my friends got so excited about them. I barely paid any attention to the movie, I was so focused on the person next to me. We were barely through the previews when our hands found each other, and about halfway through the movie she slid the armrest up and gently put her arm around me.

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School on Monday was strange. Last time I'd seen Luce, we'd kissed goodbye. Meeting her at our lockers in the morning it didn't seem like I could greet her in the same way. In fact, I barely looked her in the eye.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

I didn't know how to say that in one way, I was better than I'd ever been, but in another I was freaking out. I remembered that she hadn't wanted to hide with the girl at her last school, but I wasn't sure I was ready for that. I put a smile on my face.

"Yeah, I'm great. I had a really good time last night."

She grinned. "Me too."

The bell saved me from doing something stupid, like leaning in and kissing her right there in front of everyone.

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By the next Wednesday, I was starting to feel like I was leading a double life. At field hockey, and school, we were just friends, and we barely touched each other. Outside of school when we were alone, at each other's houses or cars, we couldn't get enough of each other. We talked a bit about being out, which still scared me. But every time I saw a straight couple at school, I was jealous that I wasn't holding Luce's hand. She said it was okay to wait, but I could tell it was making her sad too.

At the BSC meeting, it was practically decided for me. I had forgotten that there was a school dance coming up, and all the other girls could talk about was who they were going to go with.

"What about you two? Luce, you found a boy you like yet? And Kristy, can we seriously set you up, or something? No more going to dances stag, it's just not cool." Stacey complained.

I looked at Luce, and my mind was made up. I grabbed her hand.

"Guys, I have something to tell you. I won't be going stag, and Luce hasn't found a boy she likes. She isn't going to, because she's going with me. We're dating. We're gay."

There was dead silence in the room for about five seconds.

"Good for you." Mary Ann said quietly, with a grin.  
"You guys aren't freaked?"

Dawn smiled hesitantly. "Um, Kristy, we're not exactly surprised. We were kind of wondering how long it was going to take you two to get together, actually."

My jaw dropped. Luce started laughing quietly. "You were? For how long?"

Mary Anne looked around the room, and then at the floor, as they all apparently waited for her to tell us. "Um, since you brought Luce to that first meeting."

"Plus we kinda thought you were gay before that." Stacey put in. "Come on Kristy, it's not like you've ever even pretended to like guys, and hello, you're kind of a stereotype." She gestured at my clothes.

"Abby's wearing soccer clothes!" I protested.

"It's not just the sports, or the clothes, it's everything, Kristy. Besides, we were right, weren't we?" Abby pointed out. I didn't have an answer for that.


	6. Chapter 6

I didn't, however, have the guts yet to tell my mom that I wasn't going stag to the dance. She had stopped asking me if I had a date to things like this anyway, so when I came down in my nice clothes (pants and a nice shirt, not a dress of course!) she simply told me to say hi to Mary Anne and the rest of my friends.

Luce had been trying to decide on telling her parents, and when I got to her house to pick her up, it was obvious that she had not. They did give me some strange looks though. Maybe I wasn't good at hiding my feelings about how much I cared for their daughter.

We also hadn't told anyone else in school about our relationship. I had naively thought it wouldn't matter. And it didn't – for about 5 minutes, until the first slow song came on. Our other friends immediately split off into couples, and we hesitantly moved together.

"This is nice." She grinned, putting her arms around my neck.

I just moved closer, even though I could see a ripple through the crowd as people clearly passed the news. Hopefully, most of them were just gossiping like they would about any other couple.

When Kristin Amanda Thomas does something, she doesn't do it halfway. So after a great school dance (by far the most fun I'd ever had at one for sure), and having dropped Luce off with a long goodnight kiss, I headed home knowing that my Mom and Watson would both probably be up. I found them in the kitchen.

"Oh hi honey, how was the dance?"

I took a deep breath.

"It was great. It's amazing how much more fun those things are if you have a date you really care about." I paused.

"You had a date?" Mom asked, confused.

"Yes. With Luce. She's my girlfriend."

Mom and Watson exchanged a weird look. "Oh. How long have you two been dating?" Mom asked.

"Um, a week. You aren't um, upset, are you?"

"Kristy, you know we love you. And we want what's best for you. If Luce makes you happy, that's great."

Then it hit me. "You guys knew too, didn't you!"

"We didn't know you were dating Luce." Watson supplied.

"That's not what I mean, you knew I was gay. What, do I have some sort of gay sign on my forehead or something? How is it that I have only known for about a week and everyone else seems to have known since I was like, twelve?"

Mom sighed. "It's not that I knew, exactly. Let's just say the idea crossed my mind, so I wouldn't have been surprised either way, okay? The important thing is that I don't care who you love as long as you have someone to love."

I realized I was acting pretty silly. "I guess I shouldn't be complaining when you are pretty much being the most awesome parents in the world to come out to, huh?"

Mom grinned. "That's us, the most awesome parents in the world." She put her arm around my shoulder. "Now remember that, because you know the rules change now. Same rules for Luce as for any of your brothers' girlfriends. Which means no sleepovers."

"But-"

"No buts. Fair is fair."

I groaned. "Should have just stayed in the closet."

Mom hugged me. "Goodnight, Kristy."


End file.
